Police have arrested four armed suspects following a shootout on Jakes Gerwel Drive in Mitchells Plain on Wednesday morning.

According to the Western Cape police, members of the National Intervention Unit had been tracking a Toyota Hilux carrying suspected armed criminals after receiving information earlier in Nyanga.

When the suspects noticed the police tailing them, they allegedly opened fire on the officers.

Police returned fire, fatally wounding one man in the vehicle and arresting the remaining four suspects. Officers recovered an AK-47 rifle, two 9mm pistols and ammunition at the scene.

The suspects’ vehicle collided with two private cars during the incident, damaging both.

The circumstances surrounding the death of the suspect are now under investigation by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).

The four surviving suspects, aged between 27 and 45, are expected to appear in the Mitchells Plain Magistrates’ Court soon on charges including possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, attempted murder, and attacking police.